Patty Murray's Advice to Paul Ryan: 'Follow Your Heart on DACA'

By Pete Jones, The Axe Files

Updated 12:00 PM ET, Fri September 8, 2017

Seattle (CNN)Calling President Trump's decision to end DACA, "appalling," Sen. Patty Murray, the third-ranking Democrat in the US Senate, challenged Republican leaders to defy party orthodoxy by voting on a permanent legislative solution to help the children of undocumented immigrants who were brought the United States by their parents.

"My advice to Paul Ryan is follow your heart," Murray told David Axelrod on "The Axe Files," a podcast produced by the University of Chicago Institute of Politics and CNN. "I think that if he follows his heart and tells his Republican caucus 'those of you who can't vote with this fine, but we're going to bring it to the floor, and we're going to vote on it," he will get the votes for it," said Murray.
Murray emphasized that fixing the problem was not an issue of having enough votes in Congress, but a question of Speaker Paul Ryan's and Majority Leader Mitch McConnell's own willingness to lead their colleagues to do what she said they knew was right.

"I know that if they bring it up for a vote that we will be able to permanently pass the policy. This is going to take leadership. You know what, Paul Ryan and Mitch McConnell's problem is not the votes on this. It's the leadership. You have to be willing to say this is what's right for my country rather than 'I'm worried if I bring this up that I'll get voted out of my leadership position.' People want leaders," Murray said. "They want people to speak from their heart. They want them to do the right thing. They don't want them to play politics. And I think we've got the votes if we have two leaders who will bring it up."

Murray noted that Ryan, who she had previously collaborated with on a long-sought, bipartisan budget deal in 2013, knew that Trump's decision to end DACA would have a significant human cost for the children of undocumented immigrants, who are often referred to as "Dreamers."

"He knows what's right to do here. He knows the impact this will have to children and families in our country. Some 800,000 young people who came here know no other country, know no other language, no other family or home," she added.

She cited the Republican Party's longtime adherence to the so-called "Hastert Rule," an unwritten policy which requires a majority of Republican legislators to support a bill before it can be voted on, as one of the obstacles to clarifying the immigration of status of people affected by DACA, an issue that Congress has been unable to solve for 16 years.
Trump's decision to light a fuse on DACA and jeopardize protections for the the 800,000 individuals protected by it drew strong criticism from Murray, who said that she was "appalled" that Trump "is using this as some kind of wedge issue campaign promise to his voters to get done rather than for the right reasons." Murray accused Trump, who has maintained that he has "great heart," and "great love" for Dreamers, of trying "to bully Congress" into fixing a problem that he created, and that his attempt to solve it with "some kind of threat," was the wrong way to approach it.

Trump, for his part, has tweeted that those under temporary legal status through DACA should not worry during the 6-month period while Congress tries to find a permanent solution. If Congress can't find a solution, he tweeted he would reassess the situation.

You know, doesn't it seem like a lot of things in this country are being decided by 'heart' or emotions rather than the law or what is truly best for this country and it's people.

It's OK to be compassionate, but laws should not be based on compassion and enforcement of laws should not be based on compassion.

In our court trials today, there is more emotion and playing on emotions than there are facts and evidence. To my thinking, there is no place in a trial for having that. It's so much easier to play on a jury's emotions than to actually present facts to prove the case.

SEATTLE -- When Maria Gianni is knocking on voters' doors, she's not bashful about telling people she is in the country illegally. She knows it's a risk to advertise to strangers that she's here illegally - but one worth taking in what she sees as a crucial election.

The 42-year-old is one of dozens of volunteers - many of them illegal immigrants - canvassing neighborhoods in the Seattle area trying to get naturalized citizens to cast a ballot for candidates like Democratic Sen. PattyMurray, who is in a neck-to-neck race with Republican Dino Rossi.

Pramila Jayapal, head of OneAmerica Votes, says the campaign is about empowering immigrants who may not feel like they can contribute to a campaign because they can't vote.

"Immigrants really do matter," Jayapal said. "If we can't vote ourselves, we're gonna knock on doors, or get family members to vote."

So far the illegal immigrants going door-to-door aren't meeting opposition. Craig Keller, an organizer for Respect WA, a group pushing for stricter immigration law in the Washington, said he doesn't mind illegal immigrants volunteering for vote drives, he just wants to make sure mistakes on the voter rolls don't allow them to vote.

"Anybody can go out and wave a sign, but when it comes to who's making the choices, there's no question they need to be citizens," Keller said.

In close elections across the country, the immigrant and minority vote is considered key for candidates, especially Democrats.

i have some advice for this stupid Patty Murray, how about you use your position to advocate for some poor Americans trapped in disgusting ghettos in inner cities who need good jobs, more training and educational opportunities and redevelopment of many of their neighborhoods. How about having some heart for rural Americans who haven't had a good job in 20 years because the manufacturing plant they worked in closed down and went offshore or fired all their American workers and hired oh wait, lookey here: illegal aliens.